Your shopping bag is empty
Go to the shop
Recommended by holistic veterinarians, Herbsmith Rx Peony Calm Shen is a Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) herbal formula that calms the Heart Shen, nourishes Heart Blood and Yin, soothes the Liver, and resolves Liver Qi stagnation to address the combination of anxiety, fearfulness, irritability, and aggression that arises when Liver Qi stagnation affects the Heart Shen. In TCVM's Five Element framework, the Liver (Wood) nourishes and controls the Heart (Fire); when Liver Qi stagnates from stress, chronic frustration, or toxic burden, the resulting disharmony frequently overflows into the Heart, disturbing the Shen and producing the characteristic combination of Liver-driven irritability and aggression alongside Heart-driven anxiety and fearfulness. Peony Calm Shen addresses both the Liver stagnation and the resulting Heart Shen disturbance, and goes further than Bupleurum Calm Spirit by deeply nourishing the Heart Blood and Yin that anchor the Shen, making it particularly suited to horses whose anxiety and reactivity have an underlying deficiency component alongside the stagnation pattern. This formula is well-suited to the spooky, irritable horse that is easily frightened, difficult to manage, aggressive under pressure, or anxious in new or stressful situations. Available in traditional powder (500g, 900g, 1200g) and Flax Plus (30-day and 60-day supply); a six-tablespoon scoop is included with the Flax Plus format. Dosing varies by body weight and health condition; your authorizing veterinarian will provide specific guidance. Not for use in pregnant mares.
VETERINARY AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED: Submit Your Authorization Request or Request a TCVM Telemedicine Consultation
Active ingredients: Bai Shao Yao (Paeonia lactiflora) - White Peony root; Bai Zi Ren (Platycladus orientalis) - Biota seed; Chai Hu (Bupleurum chinense) - Bupleurum root; Dan Shen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) - Salvia root; Dang Gui Tou (Angelica sinensis, head) - Chinese Angelica root head; Fu Shen (Poria cocos, root-bound) - Heart Poria; Mai Men Dong (Ophiopogon japonicus) - Ophiopogon tuber; Mu Li Shu (Ostrea gigas, calcined) - Calcined Oyster shell; Qing Pi (Citrus reticulata, immature) - Green Tangerine peel; Suan Zao Ren (Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa) - Sour Jujube seed; Tian Men Dong (Asparagus cochinchinensis) - Asparagus tuber; Wu Wei Zi (Schisandra chinensis) - Schisandra fruit; Xiang Fu Zi (Cyperus rotundus) - Cyperus rhizome; Xuan Shen (Scrophularia ningpoensis) - Scrophularia root; Ye Jiao Teng (Polygonum multiflorum, vine) - Polygonum multiflorum vine; Yuan Zhi (Polygala tenuifolia) - Polygala root.
Inactive ingredients (Flax Plus only): Ground Flax Seed. Traditional Powder contains no inactive ingredients.
VETERINARY AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED: Submit Your Authorization Request or Request a TCVM Telemedicine Consultation
Peony Calm Shen is a sixteen-herb formula organized around four complementary strategies: nourishing Heart Blood and Yin to anchor the Shen, calming and opening the Heart's orifices to settle the Shen, soothing the Liver and spreading Liver Qi to resolve the root stagnation, and invigorating Heart Blood to ensure nourishment circulates to the Heart:
Herbsmith Rx Peony Calm Shen contains multiple Blood-nourishing and Blood-moving herbs including Dan Shen, Dang Gui Tou, and Suan Zao Ren, the Liver Qi-moving herbs Chai Hu, Xiang Fu Zi, and Qing Pi, and the Yin tonic herbs Mai Men Dong and Tian Men Dong. Horses on prescription medications should use this formula under veterinary supervision. Not for use in pregnant mares.
Medication categories warranting extra caution include anticoagulant or antiplatelet medications (Dan Shen has well-documented Blood-invigorating and mild anticoagulant properties; concurrent use with anticoagulants, including warfarin or heparin, requires close veterinary monitoring), medications metabolized by the liver or affecting liver enzymes (Chai Hu may influence cytochrome P450 enzyme activity), sedatives or anxiolytic medications (this formula affects Heart Shen and emotional regulation through TCVM mechanisms; concurrent use with CNS-active medications should be discussed with your veterinarian), and reproductive or hormonal medications (not for use in pregnant mares; several herbs including Dang Gui Tou and Qing Pi have potential uterotonic properties). Your veterinarian can determine appropriateness based on your horse's condition, current medications, and laboratory results.
VETERINARY AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED: Submit Your Authorization Request or Request a TCVM Telemedicine Consultation
Both formulas address the combined pattern of Liver Qi constraint and Heart Shen disturbance, but they differ significantly in their nourishing depth. Bupleurum Calm Spirit is based on the classical Chai Hu Jia Long Gu Mu Li Tang and works primarily through spreading and resolving excess constraint, making it better suited to horses whose Liver-Heart disharmony is primarily an excess pattern of constraint and Yang agitation. Peony Calm Shen includes a much larger array of Yin and Blood tonic herbs including Mai Men Dong, Tian Men Dong, Xuan Shen, Suan Zao Ren, Bai Zi Ren, Wu Wei Zi, Ye Jiao Teng, and Dang Gui Tou, making it the better choice when the horse also shows signs of underlying Heart Blood and Yin deficiency: chronic anxiety that does not fully resolve with Liver Qi-moving approaches alone, a horse that is both reactive and also appears depleted or tight-coated, or anxiety that has been present long enough for a deficiency component to develop alongside the stagnation. A TCVM-trained veterinarian can evaluate the pattern and determine which formula, or what combination, is most appropriate.
For the traditional powder, administer two tablespoons twice daily for the first 20 days, then two tablespoons once daily. For the Flax Plus format, administer one scoop (six-tablespoon scoop included) twice daily for the first 20 days, then one scoop daily. Mix into grain for easy administration. If the horse is reluctant to eat herbs, begin with small amounts in grain and gradually increase, or choose the Flax Plus version. Confirm dosing for horses of other weights with your authorizing veterinarian. Not for use in pregnant mares.
Chronic Liver Qi stagnation generates Heat over time, and that Heat depletes Yin and Blood. When Yin and Blood become deficient, the Heart Shen loses its anchor and becomes increasingly unstable, reactive, and fearful. In horses with long-standing anxiety and reactivity, simply moving the Liver Qi is often insufficient because the underlying deficiency continues to destabilize the Shen even after the stagnation is resolved. The Yin and Blood tonic herbs in Peony Calm Shen rebuild this nourishing foundation: they restore the Heart Blood and Yin that give the Shen its stability and prevent the anxiety from recurring once the stagnation is cleared. This combination of moving and nourishing is the formula's core therapeutic strategy and distinguishes it from formulas that address the Liver-Heart disharmony through dispersing and anchoring alone.
Because Peony Calm Shen addresses both the Liver Qi stagnation and an underlying Heart Blood and Yin deficiency, improvement typically unfolds in two phases: horses often show improvement in reactive irritability and acute spookiness within 2 to 4 weeks as the Liver Qi begins to move and the Heart Shen calms, with deeper improvement in the underlying anxiety and fearfulness continuing over 6 to 12 weeks as the Blood and Yin nourishment builds. This formula is suitable for long-term use when the underlying deficiency pattern is significant. Your authorizing veterinarian can monitor your horse's response and advise on whether continued use, dose adjustment, or a transition to maintenance dosing is appropriate as the horse's pattern resolves.
Be the first to ask a question about this.